Stanley-Venne asked to resign from NEDP

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Muriel Stanley-Venne as been asked to resign from the board of the Native Economic Development Program (NEDP).

The phone call from NEDP chairman Ken Thomas, asking for her resignation was received by Venne only two days before her election bid as a candidate for the New Democratic Party in the Meadowlark riding in the May 8 provincial election.

According to Venne, on May 5 Thomas phoned her to inquire about her involvement in the provincial general election and then advised Venne that he would be taking the matter up with Andre Bissonnette, minister of state for small business and minister responsible for the NEDP.

On May 6, Thomas phoned again and said that he had been instructed by Bissonnette to request her resignation from the NEDP board. Venne says that she had been given to understand that her resignation was being requested because of her involvement in the current provincial election.

On December 8, 1985, Venne was appointed to the NEDP advisory board, and in April of this year she received official notification and a letter of congratulations from Prime Minister Mulroney on her official appointment to the board.

"When Ken Thomas called me the first time and asked me what my intentions

were with regard to resigning, I said, well, the elections will be held on Thursday (May 8) so I would tell him on Thursday. If I was elected I would certainly resign but I told him that there was only two days to go and that in two days I would give him an answer.

"The very next day he called me back and said he was requesting my resignation because of my involvement in the provincial elections," said Venne, which commenting further that Thomas did not mention at any time the NDP and her involvement with it.

Asked it if was possible that they (NEDP) were aware of her being a member of the new Democrat Party, Venne stated that she could not see how they could not know because, "I had just finished running in the 1984 federal election. The thought that they would not know that I was a New Democrat was inconceivable."

At the December meeting when Venne was first considered to sit on the advisory board, Bissonnette mentioned political involvements to the board, but Venne says that she was already well known as a political person. She did not take much notice to Bissonnette's comments, because "they had to know about my political involvement." Asked about her role as general manager of Settlement Sooniyaw Corporation, and that if that could have had effect on a decision being made to ask for her resignation, Venne commented that, "Settlement Sooniyaw is the owner of the corporation that is to receive NEDP funding and, by the way, that contract has been signed and fully executed.

A proposal for funding had gone through Settlement Sooniyaw Corporation before Venne's appointment was approved.

Settlement Sooniyaw is the investment corporation for the eight Metis Settlements in Alberta. Venne has been working for the corporation for approximately four years.

"The Board that is responsible for the monies is Settlement Investment Corporation, so I don't have any direct ties to that corporation at all. I wanted to mention that I am really pleased that the contribution agreement has been fully executed. My one worry about going public on this matter of asking for my resignation was that it might have some effect on the contribution agreement that we had been involved with. But, I received by air-velope this morning (May 7) that the agreement has been signed."

Bissonnette had said in December that he discouraged board members from running for public office, something Venne understood but says, then, she cannot understand why he appointed her.

"I never made any attempt to hide my candidacy and the possibility that my running for office could prove to be a problem in this regard never occurred to me.

"If those responsible for the program administered by the board and, I suspect more importantly, the minister of state for smal business under whose authority the program operates, wish me removed form the board, then they will have to proceed by way of Cabinet order rescinding the order which appointed me," stated Venne regarding the request for her resignation from the board. She emphasized that "she will not resign."

Bissonnette's office in Ottawa would not make comment and suggested that the chairman of the board of NEDP, Ken Thomas, be contracted.

At the time of that phone call, Bissonnette was unavailable for comment.

Thomas could not be reached at his office in Regina.

Venne says her greatest disappointment about being on the board was that she assured that this was a business development board.

"As I stated in the Native press, I found out that it was a government program, which is a radical difference. I tried with all the energy that I have to make it into a business-minded board.

"We as Native people had too many programs laid on us, dictating to us how we should operate and what we should do. Most of the time, it was doomed to failure."

Venne said that she would like to see the Native groups express their concerns, "if they have them."

"I feel very sorry about this and cannot believe that they would take these measures two days before the elections. Why they didn't immediately ask for my resignation, I don't know."